


Child of silver light

by Milaley



Series: Silver Child [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dreams and Nightmares, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Silver Eyes, or maybe not so light angst it's RWBY after all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-03-22 13:57:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13765602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milaley/pseuds/Milaley
Summary: “I am sorry Ruby!” she says with an oh so sad smile “I didn’t want this to happen, but it is your turn now. Your time will come my child!”And Ruby doesn’t understand, what is it that her mother is sorry about, why is she so sad, why is it her turn now? She wants to reach out, wants to ask, but suddenly the wind picks up and she is sucked back, her mother, the grass, trees, and moon dissolve into rose petals. And Ruby wakes up.Ever since she was little, Ruby's been dreaming of strange people with silver eyes.





	1. The Start if not the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So this popped into my mind during finals week... great timing I know, right? But it's semester break right now here so I finally have time to write again
> 
> First (written) work on this site so please keep that in mind. Also: My first language is NOT English, it's German. Also, I'm dyslexic... so... yeah... there might me (knowing myself there definitely are) spelling errors. If you find them feel welcome to tell me so I can correct them. My friends and word can only find so many.

The first time Ruby can recall it happening is when she is about four years old.

A few days ago, her mom had kissed and hugged her and Yang and had headed out for a mission. Dad had told her and Yang that she’ll be back before they know it and if what he says is true, then she will come back in two days. That means two more days without her mother’s freshly baked cookies and warm hugs and belly kisses and two more nights where it’s only her Dad kissing her and Yang goodnight. Ruby misses her mom. She knows that Yang misses her too and she noticed that dad often gets this look on his face and that he looks out of the window more often as if he's hoping that her mother's mission would be finished sooner and that she's already standing right outside the house, all warm smiles and hugs, and kisses.

But there are still two days left. So, Ruby spends the day playing, eating, napping and then playing and eating again. She plays grim and hunter with Yang and tries to climb up her father’s leg while he prepares dinner for the three of them.

And then it’s bedtime and dad puts both Yang and her to bed, reads them their stories, sings them both a song, tucks them in and kisses them goodnight. Ruby is asleep as soon as her father is out of the room.

 

That night she dreams.

She’s standing in the middle of a field of red grass surrounded by white trees with white leaves under a black sky and a shattered moon. Ruby looks around and sees a figure standing about 50 feet away wrapped in an achingly familiar white hooded cloak, facing the other direction. It’s her mother!

“Mom!” she cries out and runs towards her as fast as her small legs can carry her. She is only a few feet away when her mother suddenly turns around and Ruby stops. Summer's face is filled with pain and sorrow. There are unshed tears in her silver eyes. Eyes that look just like Ruby’s.

“I am sorry, Ruby!” she says with an oh so sad smile “I didn’t want this to happen, but it is your turn now. Your time will come my child!”

And Ruby doesn’t understand what it is that her mother is sorry about, why is she so sad, why is it her turn now? She wants to reach out, wants to ask, but suddenly the wind picks up and she is sucked back, her mother, the grass, trees, and moon dissolve into rose petals. And Ruby wakes up.

 

She feels vulnerable and shaken and scared and… _mom… where is mom_? Ruby starts to cry and scream, waking up Yang in the bed next to her and her Father in the room across the hallway. He takes her into his arms, rocking her back and forth, saying again and again “it’s just a dream sweetheart, it’s just a dream” while Ruby curls into his chest and sobs into his shirt. Yang climbs onto her bed, curls into her father’s side and strokes Ruby’s hair, worried by seeing her little sister so scared. Finally, Ruby calms down and they all fall back asleep on her bed. Tai lying on his back with Ruby curled up on his chest and Yang cuddled up against his right side.

Ruby still doesn’t understand what her mother was so sorry about.

And then three days later her mom still isn’t home, instead, it’s her uncle Qrow who comes to the door bearing a bloodied white cloak and bad news.

And Ruby _knows_.

 

It doesn’t stop there. The dream doesn’t stay the only one. The next one comes just a few weeks later, except it’s not her mother standing in the field but an old lady in a blue battledress, white hair and silver eyes just like hers who tells her _“you hold our legacy now! Child, your time will come”_. And this time it’s not her father coming to comfort her but her uncle Qrow who picks her up, carries her down into the kitchen while Yang quietly tails after them. He makes them both warm cacao and stays with them, telling them stories until they fall asleep on the couch.

A few weeks after that it’s a young man in her dreams, then an old man, a young and elegant lady and then her mother again. Over time she gets used to these strange dreams. She still feels shaken by them every time but while she slowly loses count of them, she manages to hide her emotions better and better. Learns to deal with them on her own. By the time she is 7 her nightmares don’t wake up Yang anymore and the only dreams she counts are the ones with her mother.

She knows that Yang knows that she has nightmares perhaps more frequently than it is normal, but she doesn’t want to burden her sister or her father with her strange sometimes prophecy like dreams. She’s not stupid, she knows they are not normal, she knows that Yang picks up in too many places after Summer's death, she knows that her father is still grieving even though he’s getting better. She doesn’t want to burden them with this too.

So, she shrugs them off in front of Yang and her father, pretends they are just normal nightmares. It doesn’t always work, Yang still sometimes looks at her in the morning with silent worry in her eyes, but she never says anything so Ruby counts that a win.

Over the years she gets better at hiding her sorrow and pain underneath her cheerfulness and energetic side. It works.

 

By the time Ruby is 14 she wields a scythe that is near twice her size, trains at Signal and dreams of getting to go to Beacon.

And she still dreams of people with silver eyes that tell her that her time will come. In the 10 years of her having these strange dreams her mother has been in them 43 times. The dreams have slowly become more frequent over the years, by now she dreams of red grass and white trees almost every week, at the beginning it was more like every two or three weeks. Ruby doesn’t exactly know what that means, but she knows that it means something.

The people in her dream are both Human and Faunus and of all ages but they all have silver eyes and they all look like battle-hardened warriors, sometimes they even carry weapons. And since they all tell her that her time will come, that it’s her turn now and that their legacy is now hers to uphold and so on and so forth… she figures that it’s some battle they are talking about which is something ruby can get behind.

So, she trains. Hard and every day under the watchful eye of their uncle. She’s still rubbish at hand to hand, but she can whirl around a giant battle scythe, like it weighs nothing and she can hit a tin can from over 500 feet away, plus she can kick hard when she needs to.

And she runs almost insanely fast, trailing rose petals behind her.

So that’s that. She only hopes that it will be enough, hopes that she won’t be one of the silver eyed people in another silver eyed Child's dreams.

 

Ruby wonders if her mother ever had dreams like hers.


	2. One step forward, two steps back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang’s arms around her tighten and she can feel her inhaling sharply. Silence settles. Crawls into space not filled with words, filling it completely.
> 
> It’s Yang who finally brakes it “Mom? Since… even when you were… even back then?” and it sounds a bit heartbroken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At my current writing pace I'm writing more chapters then my friends can beta :D but I have to help my mother this weekend with organizing a concert plus dealing with the lighting during the concert on Sunday so I can't promise that I'll be able to write as much over the weekend.
> 
> Again, if you find spelling/grammatical errors, feel free to tell me.

 

Ruby is 15. And it’s the first time in years that she wakes up crying from her dreams.

 

It’s the same setting as always. Red grass, white trees, black sky with the broken moon and strange person in the distance. It’s an older man this time. He wears clothes that look like the ones in the pictures of Ruby’s history books. Old, maybe even ancient, a sword rests on his hips, and he wears a long green cloak. A circlet of silver metal rests on his wavy and long hair. He smiles at her and Ruby knows that something is different. The people in her dreams never smile. “Silver child,” he says, “don’t worry, you don’t have to wait much longer, you will shine your light before a year has passed. Your time is near, child!”

Ruby wakes up gasping for air, tears burning behind her eyelids and her hands shaking. It’s been long since she felt that shaken, that vulnerable after one of her dreams. She sits up, feeling simultaneously too hot and too cold, fighting for control over her breathing and trying to hold back the tears that threaten to spill.

 

“Ruby? Are you ok?” Yang asks softly from her right. She’s sitting up sideways in her own bed with worry in her eyes.

Ruby doesn’t answer but the tears are now running down her face. Why does she feel like this - she’s supposed to have control over her emotions by now?

The mattress dips and Ruby feels Yang’s warm hand on her shoulder.

“Sis? What’s wrong” Yang asks, her voice is warm and gentle “and don’t tell me it’s nothing because you’re clearly shaken up by something!”

Ruby leans into her sister’s hand grateful for the contact. It helps her ground herself somehow.

 

By the time Ruby has her breathing back under control, Yang has migrated to leaning against the headboard with her sister tucked under her left arm, head leaning on her shoulder. The tears have stopped falling by now and Ruby somehow feels bone tired but still too shaken up to fall asleep again.

“It was a nightmare”, she finally whispers. It’s as if something's about to break inside of her and Ruby’s not sure if she should let it.

Yang laughs, short and somewhat bitter “yeah, I kind of already know that sis!” Then she adds in a more gentle tone “what was it about? You know you can tell me Rubes” and her hands start carding through Ruby’s hair. Ruby suddenly feels like she is 4 years old again, waking up after her first silver eyed dream crying into her father’s chest with Yang’s hand warm – her sister has always been warm – in her hair. Just like it’s now. Except her father is asleep in the room across the hall and Ruby has so many more secrets kept inside of her. Secrets she’s not sure she can or is able to tell.

“I’m not sure” Ruby finally says which is kind of the truth. well, it’s not a complete lie.

“You’ve been having a lot of these nightmares lately, I know that you always had nightmares, but they are getting more frequent.” Yang sighs and the hand in Ruby’s hair stops moving “sis, are you sure you’re ok? Is it because I’m leaving for beacon soon? Is it because you’re afraid of being alone? You do know that I’m always only a call away!”

“it’s not that!” Ruby rushes to explain, the last thing she wants is for her sister to feel responsible for her dreams, so she settles for a half-truth once again “it’s just… I dream of mom most times, you know?”

Yang’s arms around her tighten and she can feel her inhaling sharply. Silence settles. Crawls into space not filled with words, filling it completely.

It’s Yang who finally brakes it “mom? Since… even when you were… even back then?” and it sounds a bit heartbroken.

All Ruby can do is nod and Yang presses a kiss to her forehead whispering “I’m sorry”

“Yeah,” Ruby replies “me too”.

 

They stay like that. Leaning against each other in their warm embrace, sheltered from the chill of the night that comes from bad dreams and hurtful memories, until they both finally fall back asleep again.

When they wake up it’s with a crick in their necks, but that’s worth it.

 

That day Ruby goes to Vale to buy some dust ammunition, stops a robbery and meets Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy.

“Ruby Rose, you have silver eyes,” he tells her, and Ruby is lost for words. She didn’t expect that. _Anything_ but not that.

She figured out years ago, that silver eyes must be something uncommon - even special - with her dreams and so on. But so far no one she knows has ever said something relating to her eye color; except that one girl in second grade that told her that her eyes were pretty, but Ruby doesn’t really count that.

But the Professor doesn’t elaborate what he means by that so Ruby relaxes into her cheerful, energetic and childish side.

And she gets accepted into Beacon – and secretly wonders if her eyes and Ozpins strange remark have something to do with it.

When she comes home she tells Yang, her father and uncle Qrow who's currently visiting after a long mission. Yang is overjoyed at the thought of going to Beacon with her little sister, hugging her, picking her up and spinning her around. Uncle Qrow smiles, ruffles her hair and says, "good job kiddo!". And her dad just looks at her.

"Are you sure? Do you really want this?" he finally asks after a minute or two of awkward silence and Ruby nods

"yes, dad, I really want this!" she says.

Tai smiles tentatively "ok, then there is no use in trying to stop you rosepetal" and then he hugs her, hugs her like he never wants to let her go like he's afraid that she will disappear the second she's out of his arms.

Today seems just full of surprises.

 

That night she dreams again and it’s the same man from the night before standing in that red field, which is a first. Yes, she’s met the same silver eyed people multiple times, but no one has ever visited her twice in a row.

The man holds himself like she imagines a king would and maybe he once was one. Long ago.

And like the night before he smiles at her “it has begun my child; the first step is taken. You will lead, and you will fall, and you will stand up again. It won’t be easy, but don’t worry, your story will be one worth telling! Your time will come, my child, my child of silver light!”

This time Ruby wakes up with only a silent gasp for air. Bewildered, confused and unsure of what to think. This one definitely felt more prophecy like, maybe even like a warning.

She doesn’t really know what to make of it and she really doesn’t want to become another silver eyes person in a silver eyed child’s dream anytime soon. So, Ruby will follow her dream of becoming a Huntress. She will go to Beacon Academy, study hard, train harder and defeat whatever prophecy or destiny the world throws at her.

I won’t be a pawn in the hands of destiny Ruby decides that night. No, she will choose her own destiny. Screw those silver eyed dreams.

The thought of that makes her smile a bit, and with that in mind, she falls back asleep.

 

And maybe it would work? Maybe destiny won't try to take her back?

~~Maybe this time it won't end with silver light ontop a broken tower and the pain of having lost a friend.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Wrote this while listening to Rock and Scissors by Michael Schulte on repeat and watching my mom sew a dress for the concert on Sunday.


	3. It's not lying if you don't say anything at all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby knows that she’s weird. She loves weapons and combat perhaps just a little too much, she sticks out with her red cloak, her awkwardness around all people that are not her family and her giant battle scythe. Ruby thought that maybe in a place like Beacon she would stick out maybe a little less, yes she knew she would be two years younger than everyone else, but thought that maybe just maybe that in Beacon where everyone is at least a little bit weird, she would find it easier to blend in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The busy weekend is finally over, time to write again!
> 
> As always, if you find spelling/grammar mistakes just tell me.

Beacon… is not exactly what Ruby thought it would be. Though she can’t exactly say _what_ she thought it _would_ be… she just thought it wouldn’t be like _that_.

First of is the fact that everyone is… well… older than her. Though that was obvious since she was let in two years early. Second where… well the people themselves.

Ruby knows that she’s weird. She loves weapons and combat perhaps just a little too much, she sticks out with her red cloak, her awkwardness around all people that are not her family and her giant battle scythe. Ruby thought that maybe in a place like Beacon she would stick out maybe a little less, yes she knew she would be two years younger than everyone else, but thought that maybe just maybe that in Beacon where everyone is at least a little bit weird, she would find it easier to blend in.

It doesn’t really work.

Her first meeting with Weiss Schnee - Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company - is, to put it mildly, kind of a disaster. With Blake Belladonna it’s half of a kind of awkward conversation that is cut short. Jaune Arc is at least as awkward as her, so that kind of makes them allies which is something… she guesses.

And then it’s the day of initiation and somehow, she ends up with one Weiss Schnee as her partner. To say that they don’t really get along is kind of an understatement.

 

Ruby, Weiss, Yang and her partner Blake take on the giant nevermore. At first, nothing really seems to work but while fighting ruby notices the two stone pillars, the ribbon attached to Blakes weapon, remembers Weiss’s ability to conjure ice and suddenly has a plan.

It works, somehow. Ruby decapitates a nevermore on her first day of school. That’s something she can be quite proud of and when he stands on top of that cliff with the head of the nevermore dissolving behind her and her eyes fixed on what she in the back of her mind calls “her team” she notices her semblance scattering red rose petals in the wind and has to think of red grass, white trees, back sky, moon, and silver eyed people dissolving in rose petals just like she does sometimes.

Ruby becomes Leader of her very own team. She somehow suspects that her silver eyes have something to do with that but tries to ban that thought out of her mind. She doesn’t want that to be something her eye color made possible, she want’s her leadership to be something she earned by herself.

 

It’s… difficult. There are a lot of arguments between them, especially between herself and Weiss. Ruby doesn’t really know how to be a leader and Weiss has no real clue how to be anything else but standoffish. But they learn. They all do. Ruby’s friendship with Weiss starts with a long night spend studying and a cup of coffee. Weiss hands her a warm and steaming cup, smiles up at her and Ruby smiles back. From that point on it gets better.

She learns how to give orders and Weiss learns how to take them, as do Blake and Yang though it’s not as much of a challenge for them. They slowly learn how to be a team, how to be partners. It’s not always easy, but at least Ruby knows that her team isn’t the only one having problems forming. That helps a bit.

It’s not perfect, actually, it’s quite far from it. Blake still pushes them all away though she’s warmed up to Yang quite a lot, Yang is still fiery and all quick temper, Weiss still holds her nose just a bit too high and Ruby still doesn’t really know how to interact with anything that is not a weapon. Funny enough that Penny and she get along so well.

But they get better, they grow together and it all seems to go well. Until they fight and Blake reveals to be a Faunus and runs and Weiss acts like she doesn’t care but Ruby knows that she clearly does because by now she knows to see behind Weiss’s façade of “I don’t care about the world”

And Yang, Yang just wants to have Blake back. Ruby hopes she can somehow hold her team together.

It works out. Somehow. They all get back together.

Ruby knows that there are talks between Weiss and Blake, knows that they are not done healing as a team yet, but it’s easier now that there are no more secrets between them.

 

Yeah… no more secrets…

 

Ruby still dreams. And she still hides it.

So much for no secrets.

Sleeping in a room with 3 other people instead of just Yang makes hiding her nightmares harder, especially when one of those 3 is a cat faunus with an extra set of ears.

The ones with her mother are especially hard to hide since they always shake her up the most. There where quite a few nights where she had to pretend to need to use the toilet or a glass of water since her throat was dry or some other excuse to leave the room to compose herself again.

But no matter what Ruby tries, the others notice.

The first one to confront her is to her surprise, Blake. Actually, it’s not that much of a surprise since Blakes hearing is the most sensitive of the four of them so she’s also the first to wake up when someone makes a noise.

 

It's one with her mother in it. Ruby finds herself once again on that red field with the white hooded figure in the distance. Her mother looks at her with sad eyes. She always looks sad in those dreams and sometimes Ruby feels like she’s forgetting what her mother’s smile looked like.

“Oh Ruby, I never wanted this for you. I hope you find a way out! Don’t die in vain like I did. But I fear your time will come my child!” she tells her before the world dissolves.

Ruby wakes up with a gasp and stares up against the white canopy. What would she give to see her mother smile just once at her, to touch her only one more time!

In the beginning, she always tried, she still sometimes does but by now she knows that it’s a fruitless effort. No matter what she tries, the world always dissolves into rose petals as soon as she reaches out her hand in search for contact, for comfort. And that somehow makes it worse. Through countless of dreams, she has memorized the feel of the air, the touch of the blades of grass on her sometimes barefoot feet, the taste of the wind and the sound of the leaves in the wind. But she’s prohibited the kindness of her mother’s touch. It makes her feel so empty inside.

Too distraught to fall back asleep, Ruby gets up, quietly jumps down from her bunk bed and tiptoes out of the room to the bathroom. She tiredly stares at her own reflection in one of the mirrors over the sinks. What would her life be like if her eve color wasn’t silver? Well, first she would be able to sleep a lot better. Ruby sighs and leans down to splash some water on her face. When she gets back up again, Blake is standing behind her, making her jump.

“Blake!” she squeals, “you scared me!”

“Sorry.” Blake replies sheepishly and moves to lean against the sink next to Ruby’s “that wasn’t my intention”

“It’s ok” Ruby rubs at her eyes, “you just have that talent of sneaking up to people I guess”

Silence follows, neither girl sure what to say next.

“you know,” Blake finally says, “I noticed that you have a lot of nightmares, and I noticed… that you try everything to hide them”

Ruby sighs. Well, it had to come up at some time she guesses. “Yes, I do. It’s no fun but it is what it is and I can’t change it”

Blake doesn’t really look impressed by that “you know what Weiss, what all of you guys told me that talking about your problems with the team is important? Well maybe should follow your own advice, Ruby.”

“there is no use in it Blake,” Ruby tells her feeling somehow impatient. She doesn’t want to hold this conversation, doesn’t want to be here. Somehow all she wants right now is to dissolve into a cloud of rose petals and run until her feet get tired. But running away doesn’t help, won’t change anything, will only make it worse.

“I…” she tries “I don’t really want to talk about it, ok? And before you ask: Yes, Yang knows. How could she not, we shared a room?”

“You sure?” Blake replies reluctantly.

“Yes, I am. Look it’s late and I’m tired. Can we go back to sleep now?”

Blake looks at her “you need to talk about your problems Ruby.”

Ruby just grins at her “well I would say that that’s the pot calling the kettle black, come on, let’s go back to bed”

 

Well so much for no more lies. Ruby feels a bit like a hypocrite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blakes conversation with Ruby wasn't easy to write since so far they've exchanged like maybe 10-20 words in the show. I really hope they're not too OOC!
> 
> Fun fact: I had trouble writing Weiss's name, I kept writing Weiß... well, that's one problem I didn't expect to have... also, I remembered while writing this that I had a teacher in grade 5 and 6 called Mrs. Weiss :D  
> Also, my Friend who's been betaing this doesn't want to do that anymore... which I can understand since she wasn't in the RWBY fandom to begin with. So this will be without Beta until I can find a new one... (so maybe if anyone wants to do that or knows where I can find a new one, just tell me)


	4. Maybe running away just leads you closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but it made falling asleep harder. Before Ruby had disliked her dreams, regarded them as a nuisance, now she actually feared them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this took longer than I thought. My muse kept running out during the end of it. But then it finally returned.  
> As always if you find spelling/grammar mistakes feel free to tell me. :)

The dreams have been getting worse since the second semester started. It’s not the frequency, it’s the content.

There are more warnings, more stern words, and the looks… no Ruby didn’t like them.

All these years the stares she has been getting from the people in her dreams, have been friendly. Some looked at her with pity, some with kindness, a few regarded her with sadness and the ancient man she has come to call “the King” smiled at her.

But now, now it's mostly cold stares from hard eyes. Cold and sharp like steel blades. It gives her the creeps.

She's not sure what to make of it, but it makes falling asleep harder. Before Ruby had disliked her dreams, regarded them as a nuisance, something she had to deal with on a semi-regular basis, now she outright fears them. Hiding the nightmares has become harder as well.

Her team is worried. She knows that. But Blake is battling through her own set of internal struggles and Yang's busy running after Blake, and Ruby doesn't know how to tell Weiss, so she keeps quiet. Or at least that was the plan.

 

It's 5 days before the Dance.

Ruby finds herself once again in that familiar dreamscape. In the distance a figure she has never seen before. An old Lady, Faunus, Avian with white feathers on her head and neck instead of hair. She wears a short, red battledress, bow and arrow on her back and Axe on her hip. “child you have to stop this.” She warns “you can’t run from this, believe me, I’ve tried! It will catch you! Pull you back and believe me, you really don't want that! Your destiny isn’t something you can run from, it will only make things worse!

Listen to us Ruby, don’t ignore us! There is danger near, closer than you think.”

Ruby stares at her. And decides to try to speak. She has spoken before but no one has ever answered her before. “How can I trust you?” she asks softly. Her own voice sounds so tiny in her own ear.

The woman looks at her with surprise, like she hadn’t expected a reply.

“how can I trust you” Ruby continues “how can I trust myself. All those dreams suggest that I’m something special, that I’m important in some way. But I don’t want that! I just want to be normal!”

The Faunus smiles sadly at that. “neither did I, but child, you have to understand that none of us wanted this at first. But it is what you are! You are destined to greatness! But only if you accept it. If you keep fighting it, it will only lead to disaster.” She looks up at the moon and says “there isn’t much time left. Your world is in the way of harm. Don’t you want to defend it?”

The world around Ruby dissolves.

 

Ruby wakes up shaking and struggling for breath, her heart reaching and her body to hot.

She needs to get out of here. Now! She jumps down from her bed and makes her way to the door as quickly and as quietly as she can. Dissolving into rose petals and running until she can think no more seems to be a really great idea right now.

“Ruby? What…”

Ruby whirls around. Weiss is standing in the middle of the corridor in her nightgown and slippers with her hair falling softly on her shoulders. Ruby looks at her like a deer in headlights, still shaking from the nightmare.

“Ruby? Are you ok? What’s wrong, did you dream again?”

“I…” Ruby whispers “I don’t… I’m not… I… I need to get out of here!” desperation in her voice and the overwhelming need to escape.

Weiss approaches her carefully like one would approach a wounded scared animal and takes Ruby’s hand. “come on,” she says “let’s go to the rooftop, you clearly need some fresh air and no, don’t even try to argue with me about needing to be alone! You are clearly in need of company!”

Ruby gets dragged up to the roof by her partner, Weiss’s hand is warm in hers, the touch and contact welcome. This is real, Ruby realizes. This world is real, and Weiss is real, and I am real. This won’t dissolve and leave me behind with too many questions like my dreams do! And she realizes that she doesn’t want to let go of that hand that’s pulling her forward with intent.

The chill of the cool night air hits Ruby like a wall. “come on” Weiss says and points to the edge of the roof “let’s sit down there.” She walks them over towards the ledge and sits down, pulling Ruby down with her. Ruby who is still shaking a bit, though the chill of the night helps with her feeling overheated and Weiss’s hand which is still holding her tightly helps her ground herself. She is far from ok but this, this helps. If Ruby is honest with herself – which has become more difficult lately – she never expected that this companionship would help, and though lately Weiss and she have been getting along like a house on fire, she hadn’t expected her to act so… compassionately. It’s kind of confusing but all the more welcome.

They sit there, next to each other for what feels like hours but in reality, might be only a minute or two, watching the starless night sky and drinking in each other’s company. Their hands still joined.

“I’m sorry,” says Ruby, breaking the silence.

Weiss turns to look at her, her expression almost unreadable “don’t be. We all have our moments. And you certainly have your nightmares. To be honest, I’m kind of glad that I was there. Wouldn’t want you to deal with this on your own!” she looks down at their entwined hands and asks sounding a bit insecure “is, is this ok?”

Ruby nods, “yes, it’s… helping” and there it is again. That feeling. That feeling like something is about to break inside of her, break out of her. And once again Ruby is not sure she can let it. Maybe she should. Maybe she should tell Weiss, tell her everything, put out the most vulnerable part of her heart for her partner to see and then wait for a reaction. Maybe Weiss can help her understand her dreams, understand herself. Maybe with all the studying Weiss has done in her life she has heard about something like this before. Maybe. But that’s a lot of maybes and Ruby doesn’t know if it’s enough. Because maybe she’s scared that once she lays open her heart, it will break.

“I” she starts but the sounds get stuck in her throat. She stares down at her free hand, laid open in her lap, unsure of how to decide “I don’t know what to do”

Weiss squeezes her hand gently “what’s going on in your head Ruby? And don’t tell me that everything is fine because It clearly isn’t. You’re hurting. You’re avoiding sleep, you are scared of something and most importantly you are not talking. I’m worried about you, we all are!”

“I know” Ruby whispers, almost to quiet for it to be heard “I know and I’m sorry, I never wanted this”

“Then what are you so afraid of?”

This something inside of Ruby that’s keeping everything in is about to break, she knows it, and maybe this is a good thing. Again, her gaze is drawn to their linked hands, and at this moment, it seems that this single point of contact is all that keeps her in this world, that keeps her from shattering just like the moon that is hidden behind some clouds tonight. “I have secrets, secrets that no one knows about and I’m not sure if I can tell them”

“Why?”

“I don’t know Weiss, I have no idea!” she says, and Ruby can basically feel her partner looking at her with that you’re-making-this-really-difficult-Ruby-face, she looks over at her and yes, exactly that face.

Weiss worries her upper lip between her teeth for a moment and then says: “how about a secret for a secret? I tell you something I’ve never told anyone, and you tell me yours. That way we remain on neutral ground. Do you think that would help?”

Ruby thinks about it for a second and then nods slowly “yes” she replies quietly “I think it would, are you sure you want to?”

Weiss nods quickly and then says the air around her suddenly somehow tense, “so I go first? I mean it was my idea after all” she stops and seeing her partners give a shrug as a reply continues “so, it’s something I’ve never told anyone. I mean I guess Winter kind of suspects it but here goes nothing…”

She lets go of Ruby’s hand and cobs nervously through her long white hair with her fingers “I like girls, not boys” she looks at Ruby and when her partner doesn’t reply continues “I’ve never told anyone this you know, it’s something where I’m not sure if it’s better to remain a secret with me being the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company and my father being a huge bigot… if it would come out, if I would come out I would probably lose the company and I just can’t let that happen you know” she pauses, not knowing how to continue

“You know that the team, that we, that I will support you no matter what Weiss!” Ruby says quietly “thank you for trusting me with this”

“You, you don’t mind?” Weiss asks sounding a bit insecure.

“No, why should I? I mean there is nothing wrong with that! There are still a lot of idiots in this world, but I know that the team will stand by your side.” Ruby says.

Weiss exhales heavily and gifts Ruby with a sincere smile that makes her insides somehow feel all warm and fuzzy.

Silence settles around them while Ruby tries to gather courage for breaking a lifelong secret. She misses Weiss’s hand in hers. It had been something to ground her

“Ok, this is going to be quite different from yours” she begins “I… since I was little I had these…” Ruby stops. Something’s not right. Something is stopping her from talking. The slight tremor in her hands is returning and Ruby longs for the comfort of her red cloak, why did she leave it in the dorm?

“What’s wrong?” asks Weiss, and Ruby doesn’t need to look up to know that she is looking at her with worry.

“I don’t know if I can do this Weiss.” Ruby shakes her head “I don’t know if I can tell you, it’s like somethings holding me back. Why is this so hard to do?” she looks a little helpless at her partner, and there it is again, that dreadful sensation she gets every time she wakes up after one of her dreams

“What do you mean, holding you back?” now she really looks worried.

“I don’t know it’s like something is trying to block me from telling. But I think I want to. I think I need to. So, I think… I think I’ll try anyway.”

“Are you sure, you don’t have to, I mean if you need time it’s absolutely no problem!”

“No!” Ruby rushes, “no I want to do it now. If I do it later I’ll just chicken out. So, I guess here goes nothing.” She inhales deeply and does her best to ignore the whispers in her head that tell her no, “I have these dreams. More like nightmares though not exactly. It’s always the same setting, I find myself in a field with red grass, surrounded by white trees and under a black sky with the moon and there is always someone standing on that field with me. They are of all genders, ages and both human and faunus. But they all have silver eyes, just like I do. And sometimes it’s my mother, she… well, she had silver eyes just like I have.” Ruby pauses and closes her eyes. It feels like pins and needles are running up and down her spine, it feels like something inside her head is shouting 'stop this, stop this, stop this,  _stopthis'_ ' and she has to muster all her willpower to ignore it. But she’s already started so she might as well finish now. “they all talk to me, or well it’s more some kind of telling me. Telling me that ‘my time will come’ or something akin to that. And then I wake up and well…” Ruby wraps her arms around herself “I know this doesn’t sound so bad but every time I wake up I feel like death itself has just washed over me and if I think about it, it probably has because I think, no I know that all of the people in my dreams are dead!” She opens her eyes again and laughs a bit hysterical “I dream of dead people that tell me what to do with my life and my mother is one of them…”

“What?” Weiss stares for a moment at her hands like she cannot fully comprehend what she just heard and then wraps her arm carefully around Ruby’s shoulders “since when? What do you mean by they tell you what to do?”

Ruby leans into Weiss's embrace and looks up at the moonless sky “well… sometimes they say stuff that’s a bit… well, prophecy like? Talking about destiny and some grad role I’m supposed to play. And they apparently get very angry when I don’t listen to what they have to say, which is what has happened lately…

As for since when… the first time it happened was when I was 4 years old, and by now I know that it was the day my mother died on a mission. I dreamt of her that night, woke up screaming and crying. It took Yang and dad a while to get me to calm down”

“Ruby?” Weiss squeezes her shoulder gently

“Yeah?”

“How can I help you? I'm sorry but I have never heard of something like this, but something like that can't be a coincidence... but maybe we can find something...”

Ruby smiles tentatively at Weiss “you are here, that somehow helps. Just don't tell the others, ok? I'm not sure I'm ready for them to know just yet.”

"You have to tell them, Ruby!" her partner insists "Maybe together we can figure out something to help you..."

"I know" she whispers, takes hold of Weiss's hand that's laying on her shoulder and keeps it in enclosed in hers.

 

Ruby just hopes she didn’t just make a major mistake. 

~~Maybe she needs to stop running away.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jup, in this Weiss, is a secret lesbian. (what do you mean she isn't in canon?) :D  
> Just a quick info, if you expected detailed Bumblebee, I have to disappoint you, there will be Bumblebee in the (very near future) but it will be more of a background thing. Sorry...
> 
> When I wasn't writing or reading this past week, I was sewing at my Summer Rose cosplay (currently sewing the white cape, so much fabric, sooo much fabric!).  
> Writing this chapter was kind of really frustrating, I knew what I wanted to write, as in I had the scene planned out, but I couldn't find the right words. I just hope that gets better with the next chapter...  
> But not now. It's like 2 am right now, and I really should go to bed :D


	5. Run, turn around and count your losses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She really DID mean to tell the others about her dreams, but she simply won’t find the right time or moment for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, if you find spelling/grammar errors, just tell me

Ruby means to tell the rest of the team. No really, she _really_ means to.

It’s just life that gets in the way.

That night on the roof Ruby had promised herself and Weiss that finally, she would open up about her dreams. They had stayed up there until both were shivering from the cold air, and even huddling together had no longer worked. But Ruby had felt so safe under Weiss’s arm, with her head on her partner's shoulder. She had felt like nothing could get her at that moment.

The next morning there is a warmth inside of her she can’t quite place but doesn’t want to lose. It stays, somehow and Ruby decides she likes it. And while Ruby battles with her mind on how to tell the rest of her team about her nightmares, the dance night happens. It’s not really her thing, but the others seem to enjoy it. Yang goes to it with Blake and though Ruby can tell they are trying to be discreet about it, they clearly don’t hide their linked hands and shared dances. It makes her happy seeing her older sister so unburdened and content even for just a few hours.

Weiss comes to the dance with Neptune and somehow that hurts a bit.

“Why did you say yes to him when he asked you?” she had asked her partner the night before while the two of them were browsing the library for possible information on people with silver eyed.

“I have to keep up a certain pretense. He is an ok guy and in the eyes of my family someone adequate of my attention. If I come to the dance alone my father might suspect something,” was the reply she had received.

Neptune can’t dance so for most of the evening he and Weiss just sit around talking. Ruby watches them and Yang and Blake dancing for a while and then decides to step outside for a minute or two, sees someone running on the rooftops and goes to investigate without telling anyone. Everything goes south from there on.

She really DID mean to tell the others about her dreams, but she simply won’t find the right time or moment for it. Not after being interrogated by the general, or during the mission with professor Oobleck, or the night after the train wreck and grim invasion. There just seems to be no right moment so telling is postponed.

 

“You stopped Running, that is good.” The King tells her in her dream.

“Did I? then what am I heading towards now? What is this all about?” she counters. Her feet are bare tonight and the red colored grass is cool, everything feels cool and the wind makes her shiver. But at least the King is smiling again and no longer looking at her like she is one huge disappointment. Plus, somehow the visitors of her dreams have somehow decided that it might be a good idea to respond to what she has to say which is a new but welcome development. It makes her feel more in control.

“Dear child, that I can not tell you. But I can tell you that you won’t have to wait much longer for answers. Don’t be impatient. Your time will come soon child!”

 

Ruby wakes up with a familiar feeling of dread and a headache. That’s also a recent thing. The headaches. She’s been heaving a lot of them lately. But right now, is not the time to think. Ruby sits up and grabs a notebook and pen that are hidden under her pillow to write down what happened in her dream. It had been Weiss’s idea

“If we gather everything that those people say to you in your dreams, we might be able to find important information, something that will help either with finding out what your dreams mean or finding out what ‘fate’ awaits you” she had said and Ruby had agreed.

That had been a few weeks ago and by now Ruby’s small notebook is already half full. She dreams now almost every night, at least every second one, and her interrupted sleep is slowly taking a toll on her.

She’s tired almost all the time since a good night’s sleep is mostly impossible, her studies are suffering, and Ruby knows that if nothing happens soon her grades will be slipping. She needs help, a solution, anything. And she needs it soon. Maybe Blake knows something, she has read so many books in her life, maybe she has come across some legend or something. Maybe Yang knows something, maybe mom had told her a story she never told Ruby. She is slowly getting desperate... but then again...

Ruby looks over to Blake’s bunk bed where the two of them are curled up together. They’ve been inseparable since the dance. Always close to each other, holding hands, kissing and Ruby is delighted by their happiness. By the gods, Ruby knows they both deserve something that makes them happy. And she doesn’t want to disturb this bubble of content that surrounds them right now but with how things are at the moment with her dreams, she might not have another choice.

But until then she will write down her dreams, give the book to Weiss the next morning to show her the new entry. And then Weiss will look at her with that I-know-you-didn't-sleep-enought look on her face and Ruby will apologize for something she can't control, they will go to class, study, maybe hit the library to try to find something on silver eyes which proves to be insanely difficult, go to sleep and repeat the whole process. 

But at least the whole telling-Weiss-thing has changed one important fact. The people in her dreams seem to like the fact that she’s now actively trying to find out more about well… everything. They don’t look at her with disdain anymore.

Ruby finishes the last sentence of her entry and puts the notebook back under her pillow. She lays back down, but sleep won’t come. Too many thoughts. Thoughts about classwork, fighting strategies, her dreams of course because that’s something that never completely leaves her mind, her team, Weiss and the tournament which will begin in just two days. Team RWBY will participate of course and they have trained well and if everything goes to plan they’ll have a chance at winning the qualifiers.

Weiss has been helping her with planning strategies. Somehow her partner, the person that has been on her mind more than everyone else lately, has become her unofficial second in command. There is a warmth that blooms inside her chest when she’s here. Ruby doesn’t quite understand it just yet, but she has an inkling to what it could be, something that might be just a bit more than simple friendship. But that is a path Ruby is not sure she’s comfortable to go down yet. There is war in her future. Conflict and death will border her path and she’s not sure if she wants to pull Weiss, her sister, Blake or anyone down with her.

If what all the silver eyed people tell her is true, well then, she might be someone who will fight for the fate of the world. She doesn’t know how, she doesn’t know why, and she doesn’t even know if this is really the truth, but she knows that she can’t allow anyone to get hurt in the process. Whether it be team RWBY, team JNPR, Penny, her family or anyone else.

~~A foolish notion, for some things are set in stone. Just like light on a tower after heartbreak~~

The dreams scare her, not because of some nightmare creature of grim or death or destruction, those things would disappear as soon as she wakes up, become an afterimage and dissolve. No, her dreams scare her because the terror follows her after she wakes up. They promise impending doom, a battle she’s not sure she can win and while many would see her as a happy-go-lucky person that lives for the thrill of a good fight, they don’t know her trouble of finding comfort in silence, her need of having her loved ones close and at the same time as far away as possible to keep them safe from whatever destiny will choose to throw at her one day or her nights spend awake because she won’t be able to bare another dark prophecy just yet.

Sleep doesn’t come for Ruby that night. She stays in bed staring at the canopy. thinking. until the sun goes up and her teammates wake.

A normal nightmare ends as soon as you wake up, but Ruby’s begins after waking because then comes the point where she worries that everything she has will one day be gone.

~~And maybe this is the true prophecy~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important note: I have a very important exam in a week so please beware that there might not be another update until after that.
> 
> I wrote this chapter on the 6-hour train ride from my parent's place, where I've been staying for the last 3 weeks, to my tiny flat. Uni starts back up in a week and I have a lot of studying to do until then.  
> Also, I've finished sowing the Summer Rose Cloak! Something that makes me really happy.  
> Oh, and I think this fic will be a bit longer than originally intended... I hope you don't mind that.


	6. Together you're less lonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She doesn’t know if she can bear her mother's sad eyes tonight. It might just be too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The exam is over, done, finished! And boy am I glad about that! I might even have passed!
> 
> As always, if you find some kind of grammar/spelling errors feel free to tell me so I can correct them.

In the end, she doesn’t have much of a choice.

The tournament is in full swing by now and they have won the qualifiers. Which is totally awesome. Ruby loves the thrill of a fight and it’s nice for once not having to worry about getting killed while fighting. JNPR and SNNN also their first round and then suddenly there is her uncle Qrow and Weiss’s sister Winter.

It’s really nice to see her uncle again. She and Yang spend a few hours with him. Talking, playing video games and enjoying having just a little piece of home so close even if it’s just for a short time. They both miss Patch and their father even though they both won’t admit it.

But then Qrow has to leave for some important business and Winter has to go back to Atlas and in the late afternoon, the whole of Team RWBY migrates back into their shared room.

Weiss sits down at her desk to study, Yang sits on Blakes bed up against the headboard, legs outstretched, cleaning ember celica and Blakes lies on her bed reading, head pillowed on her girlfriend’s legs.

Ruby is lying on Weiss’s bed – lately, Weiss has given up trying to keep Ruby from doing so, it was a fruitless effort to begin with. She hasn’t been sleeping well the past few days, last night she only got two hours of sleep until a dream had woken her up for good. She is so, so, _so_ tired. And Weiss’s bed is so comfortable. Her eyes get heavier and heavier until they fall shut for good and blissful darkness surrounds her consciousness. But not for long.

 

Before much time has passed she finds herself standing in that familiar and dreaded dreamscape. The moment Ruby notices her Mother standing in the distance, she knows that this dream will be one of the more harrowing ones. The ones with her mother always are.

The white cape is blowing in the wind, hem dirty and the hood hides half of her face. Achingly familiar and yet so strange. Ruby takes a breath to steady herself and takes a step towards her Mother 

“Mom?” she asks while everything inside of her wants to turn around. Today had been such a good day. Filled with Family and warmth, she doesn’t know if she can bear her mother's sad eyes tonight. It might just be too much.

“Ruby,” her mother says, she looks up and their eyes link. Fear. They are filled with fear. Not sadness. Ruby takes a step back, a chill creeping down her back.

“Ruby, please! Run, run away!” her mother pleads “take your sister, take Yang and run! Fast and far! There lies death and destruction in this place you have to leave!”

Ruby stares at her mother with wide eyes, terror rising inside of her. Something is wrong, something is very wrong. She has just begun to accept the fact that she has some grad destiny to fulfill and everyone in her dreams had been happy about it, so why does her mother tell her to run away from it again.

“Please my child, save yourself! You don’t have to follow this destiny. Don’t throw away your life like this. Please” her mother takes a step towards Ruby who feels like she’s frozen “please, don’t die in vain like I did, _don’t throw your life away!”_

The wind picks up and Summer looks up at the sky, eyes wide and desperate “no!” she shouts “no wait! There is still so much to say, you can’t…”

Terrified Ruby looks at her mother with disbelieve as the world dissolves.

 

She wakes up gasping like she’s drowning on dry land, sitting up abruptly and shaking violently. _What was that, by the gods what was that!?_

“Ruby?” someone is calling her name, but Ruby isn’t really registering it

“Sis? Rubes! Come on snap out of it!” a warm hand encases her shoulder, shakes her lightly. Yang’s face filled to the brim with worry appears in her field of vision. Ruby blinks, her senses are slowly coming back to her.

“Yang?” she whispers confused, feeling so, so small

Her sister exhales sharply “oh thank god” and Ruby finds herself encased in a warm and tight embrace which she hesitantly returns. “it’s ok Sis, it’s just a dream, you’re safe now”

And Ruby can’t hold it back anymore. Because that's not true, it's not just a dream, it's a reality that will follow. It's a horrible prophecy that might just come true. The floodgates open and she starts to sob into her sister’s shoulder. It wasn’t supposed to be like this! It really wasn’t. She was supposed to go to Beacon with her sister, find many new friends, kill a lot of monsters, graduate and become a super awesome Huntress. But now she’s stuck with horrible dreams, barely keeping it together near the end of her first year. Her eyes and dreams and the people in her dreams have taken more than just her sleep, they have taken the control over basically everything, and now where with the help of Weiss she has finally begun to accept the fact that her life will never in the slightest bit be ordinary, her mother comes along and stirs up the whole fragile balance. Like a house made out of cards in an earthquake-prone area that’s destroyed by a tornado.

She feels a hand beginning to tentatively rub her back up and down “Ruby, did you dream again?” It’s Weiss, of course it is Weiss. Ruby lifts her head from where she had buried it in Yang’s shoulder and nods. She scans her surroundings, Weiss is sitting behind her and Blake is sitting next to Yang on the bed with an expression that is a mixture of worry and curiosity on her face. She is surrounded by friends and family. 

She leans her forehead against Yang’s shoulder as tears continue to fall and exhales shakily.

“Ruby, what is going on?” Yang asks worry laced through every word.

This is it. Ruby realizes. This is the point where she has to make a choice, from now on there is no turning back. Yes, she could technically wave it off again as just another nightmare but if she does that then… then she may never tell the truth again.

 

 _Don’t do it, protect your secret_ whispers a strangely familiar voice in the back of her mind.

 

Ruby ignores the voice, takes a deep breath to steady herself and says: “it’s kind of a long story and I might have lied to you.”

“Has it something to do with your dreams?" Blake askes from her right. Sometime during the whole thing, she has somehow moved from her left to her right side.

Ruby nods “yes… it’s my dreams, they are not exactly… normal” she furiously wipes at her eyes, trying to will the tears from falling and continues to hide her face against Yang’s shoulder because she might just not be able to look into her sister’s eyes right now when she has basically lied to her, her whole life.

Behind her Weiss huffs sarcastically “oh I think ‘not normal’ might be the understatement of the century Ruby”

“Weiss, that’s not really funny,” Yang says sternly, and Ruby has to keep herself from laughing because, yes, it kind of is. Or maybe right now she is just so desperate that every bit of humor sounds like the greatest joke ever told. Weiss’s friendly jab somehow makes her feel just a bit lighter and when she continues speaking, her voice is not as shaky anymore.

“I have these dreams, they are all almost identical. And I have had them for years. It’s kind of complicated and honestly,” Ruby carefully lifts her head from where it has been resting against Yang’s shoulder but refuses to look anyone in the eye “it’s really difficult to talk about it, but I think it’s time you get to know the truth so… I’ll try anyway.

When I was four years old, and mom was on a mission – the one she didn’t come back from -  I had a nightmare. I don’t know if you remember it Yang, but I think you might. 

I found myself on this field surrounded by trees only the grass was red and the trees white and the sky, the sky was black, and the moon was huge and broken up. And mom was there, she was standing in the distance and I was so happy to see her, so I ran towards her until she turned to me and” Ruby exhales heavily sits up a little straighter while trying to find courage for the words that follow. “and I stopped. She looked so sad and I didn’t understand why. I don’t remember the exact words she used but she said that she was sorry, that she didn’t want this to happen and that it was my turn now and that my time would come. And then everything dissolved, and I woke up crying and screaming and it took both you and dad to calm me down. I didn’t understand what she was so sorry for until…” at this point Ruby’s voice fails her and the tears threaten to spill again

“until uncle Qrow told us what had happened?” Yang guesses and Ruby nods in response. She is pulled back firmly against Yang’s chest, though this time not only for her own comfort but for Yang’s as well, and for a few moments the two sisters cling to each other.

“this isn’t everything,” Ruby says as she tentatively let’s go of her sister to lean back a bit and look at her other teammates. Blake's hand is resting on Yang’s leg. Weiss is still sitting behind her and Ruby gathers her courage to reach behind and take Weiss’s hand in hers. She needs this. Needs the assurance and comfort of that simple contact, the contact that had grounded her weeks ago on the rooftop. Gifts her with a small smile and squeezes her hand as if to say “it’s ok, I’m here for you”

With that Ruby continues “it didn’t stay the only dream. In the beginning, I had them every few weeks, that became every two weeks, then every week and by now I have them almost every night. It’s not always mom I dream about, it’s other people too. But they all have something in common,” Ruby closes her eyes for a second and then looks at her team one by one “they all have silver eyes, just like me. Most of them are in battle gear. And all of them tell me about some great fight, some horrible war that is coming and about how it’s my destiny or something to fight in it. They sometimes even warn me when something is about to happen though they never say what.”

She slumps down, some kind of relive filling her, making her bones ace and her head throb and she closes her eyes while she waits for someone to say something. Because her head feels empty and her tongue heavy and she doesn’t know what to say now.

Yang is the one to break the silence “why didn’t you tell me” the words are quiet, but they fill the room nonetheless. There is hurt in her voice with the undertone of betrayal.

Ruby looks up to face her sister and says “I wanted to, believe me, I did! But in the beginning dad was grieving and you picked up where mum left of and you did so much! I didn’t want to burden you with this too! And then when I wanted to, I found out that I couldn’t.” Yang looks at her with something close to disbelieve and Ruby hurries to continue “no really! I couldn’t! I tried to, but there is something inside my mind that makes it really hard to talk about it! Almost… almost like it doesn’t want me to.”

“so, you never told anyone?” Blake asks.

“kind of, I told Weiss about two months ago, she confronted me after I tried to sneak out after a nightmare”

“she didn’t want to tell me at first, I kind of forced her to do so and wouldn’t back down” Weiss hurries to explain and Ruby squeezes her hand as a silent thank you.

Blake leans against Yang and wraps one arm around her shoulder and lays the other hand on Ruby’s arm “so, all this time you dealt with all of this alone? And from what I’m gathering it has gotten worse?”

Ruby nods “yes, especially the ones with mom in them, they are… kind of terrifying.” She stops, looks at the floor and her next words are almost to quiet to be heard “she always looks so sad and I think I have forgotten what her smile looked like”

Yang’s soft gasp is answer enough.

She grabs Ruby be the shoulders and pulls her into a tight embrace

She doesn’t let go for a while

~~None of them do~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, during the past week I did find myself quite often in the library with all my books and transcripts and notes and instead of learning, writing just another paragraph (or page) of this story.  
> And the first thing I did today after taking that stupid exam was sitting down in a nice cafe to finish this chapter. 
> 
> Also, it finally happened! Ruby got a hug! let's celebrate that moment!
> 
> (also I might have infected my sister with RWBY, she says she want's to read this fic but to do that she needs to know the series! She wants to watch the show this weekend and after that, I might just use her as my new beta... I mean she is an English teacher after all)


	7. Will your blood be on my hands?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning the randomization process chooses Yang.
> 
> And everything goes to hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, if you find grammar/spelling mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me.

There is blood on her hands, covering her palms and fingers. There are pools of blood on the ground. _Why is there so much blood?_

It’s hazy, black smoke surrounding everything, cold creeping into her bones. She takes a few steps forward.

Someone’s lying on the ground. A mangled, broken body. Bloody and torn. Thick and long blond hair. Yang!

She runs to it, falls to her knees next to it. This can’t be, no, please! Please! She stretches a shaking hand out to hopelessly check for a pulse. Yang’s dead eyes snap open, her voice is filled with hate

**_“you should have run Ruby!”_ **

 

Ruby wakes up with a start. It was just a dream! Just a normal nightmare! Just her head being mean to her for once. Nothing more.

But the need to make sure her sister is safe, is _alive_ , is overwhelming. She sits up and swings her legs around so she’s sitting on the edge of her bed.

She looks over to the other side of the room and is relieved to find her sister alive and sleeping peacefully.

Blake is still up, sitting at her desk, the small but warm light of her desk lamp bathing the room in an orange glow. She’s absorbed in some heavy tome filled with old legends and stories. Ever since Ruby told them about her dreams, Blake has been set on finding anything relating to her silver eyes. Currently, she’s going through every legend she can get her hands on in her search for answers. It’s giving her something to focus on that’s not Roman Torchwick and the White Fang. “It’s a welcome distraction” she had told Ruby “I mean we have no new leads on them, might as well use my time to help a friend”

Now she looks up from her book, cat ears twitching slightly “Ruby? Everything ok?”

Ruby shakes her head and silently drops down from her bed “I had a nightmare. A normal one I guess” her mind is still swimming a bit and she walks to her sister’s bed.

“Want to talk about it?”

Ruby shakes her head again stepping on the edge of Blakes bed. “Yang?” she asks quietly while nudging her sister.

She doesn’t want to interrupt her sister's sleep, tomorrow the singles round of the tournament starts, and she needs her rest. But… Ruby has promised Yang that the next time she had trouble sleeping or dreaming or was feeling upset or sad or scared, she would come to her first. And Ruby really needs to hear her sisters voice right now to chase away the afterimage of that horrible nightmare, needs to see Yang’s eyes alive and not empty. She should let her sister sleep, but to be honest, right now Ruby is only a 15, soon to be 16 year old kid, that has just seen her sibling dead in her dreams and all she wants right now is for her sister to hug her and tell her that everything will be ok – even if that is just a lie.

“What?” Yang mumbles sleepily, scrunches up her face and opens her eyes “Ruby? What’s wrong?”

Relive floods Ruby at hearing her voice, warm and drowsy and so, so different from her nightmare. “I had a nightmare,” she says, fingers digging into Yang’s mattress.

“Oh” Yang sits up “one of your…?”

“No” Ruby shakes her head timidly “a normal one”

Yang reaches out her hand to gently ruffle her sister's hair “what did you dream?”

“I dreamt you died” Ruby replies in a tiny voice.

The hand in her hair stills and then strong hands hock under her armpits and Ruby is pulled up onto the bunk bed with a “come here, sis”

Yang then proceeds to cuddle her “I’m here, I’m alive and well and for once that was just a really stupid dream, nothing more.”

Ruby just buries her face in Yang’s shoulder and tries to keep from crashing down. She can have that now, that comfort, she’s allowed to be weak now if she wants to. She can trust her sister, can trust her friends, can let down those carefully constructed walls in their presence.

“I think what mum said to me the last time I dreamt of her, kind of haunts me…”

Yang is silent for a few seconds and then her fingers begin to card through Ruby’s hair in a familiar fashion “the part where she told you to run away and take me with you?”

“Mhm”

“Well, next time you see her, tell her from me that she’s not to scare you like that in the future, ok?”

Ruby only nods and stares blankly at the wall, not saying a word. Exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the past… well… 11 years. In theory, she appreciates Yang’s attempt at a joke, but she feels to drained to laugh at it.

“You ok?” Yang askes concerned, and Ruby can only shake her head in reply

“Wanna stay here tonight? Blake won’t mind and maybe it’ll help keep the dreams at bay”

Again, Ruby doesn’t make a noise, only nodding and burrowing deeper into her sister’s warm embrace.

Silence surrounds them, the only noise in the room being the four girls breathing and Blake turning over the pages of her book. And slowly Ruby begins to calm down.

“So you remember?” says Yang breaking the silence “when we were little? Building pillow forts between our beds and then sleeping in them in a nest of blankets? Curled up together. When we did that I always felt so safe and warm as if the outside world didn’t exist.”

“Yeah,” Ruby replies “I remember that. But life is not like that anymore Yang! And maybe we really should run! I don’t want you to get hurt”

“Nothing is going to happen, sis! Don’t forget, getting hurt only makes me stronger! I will protect you and I will protect myself.”

Ruby tightens her grip on Yang’s shirt “but what if...”

“No, but! I’ll be fine! And when all this is over, when the tournament is over, we can build a pillow fort and hide from the world for a bit! You’ve been running for so long now sis, maybe it’s time to slow down for a bit before you’ve used up all of your power.”

“I’m just really worried Yang...”

“I know, but you don’t have to Rubes! Come on, why don’t you try to go back to sleep now.” she plants a small kiss in Ruby’s hair “I know you’ve not been sleeping well the past months and you need every minute of sleep you can get!”

Ruby sighs “figures that the one night I don’t dream of silver eyes, I have a normal nightmare...”

Yang chuckles “go to sleep sis”

Ruby closes her eyes, sleep does sound good!

 

The next morning the randomization process chooses Yang.

And everything goes to hell.

Her blood runs cold the moment she sees her sister shoot Mercury’s leg. Later when they’re all sitting in their room, Yang tries to explain her perspective, confused and hurt and desperate to make them believe that she thought that what she did was justified, that she saw him attacking her and…

And at one point Ruby begins to wonder if maybe she should have run like her mother had told her to. Is this the beginning of the end? Is this the point where there’s no turning back?

“I want to believe you, I’m trying to! It’s just not easy Yang” says Blake and Ruby can see her Sisters face crumble.

They will probably, hopefully, be fine eventually. But right now, Yang is doubting her own mind and everyone else is doubting her actions. It will take time. And honestly, Ruby is not sure anymore if they’ll have it.

But the fact that Yang saw something different than the rest of the word makes ruby suspicious. Yes, she could be lying but Ruby knows her sister better then anyone else, knows that she would never hurt someone intentionally without a good reason. Something’s not quite right. And she wants - needs - to know what.

But in the meantime, there are more tournament rounds. Penny and Pyrrha still have theirs in front of them. Ruby still wants to cheer on her friends.

 

On the way to the stadium, she meets Velvet who tells her of Cocos “stress-induced hallucinations” and Ruby begins to wonder. And then she spots Emerald in the stadium and… she had been awfully quick at Mercury’s side, hadn’t she… almost as if… as if she had expected something to happen. And wasn’t Coco fighting Emerald when she saw Yatsuhashi? And… what if…

Also, what is Emerald doing here when her partner is injured in a hospital? Something is not right. Suspicion grows in Ruby and she gets up from her seat, she has to get over there! She’s not completely sure why but she has to!

The maintenance tunnels seem to be the best and quickest route. Until…

What is Mercury doing here, how is he even standing! And it dawns on Ruby that they all have been manipulated. Manipulated by people they thought they could trust.

And then the next match is announced. Pyrrha versus Penny. Metal against magnetism. Mercury sneers and Ruby realizes that she has to stop it, that if she doesn’t get to Emerald RIGHT NOW something horrible will happen! But Mercury blocks her path and by the time she gets past him, the fight is already in full action and Ruby runs, runs and wishes she had more control over her semblance, wishes that she could stay in that rose-petal-like form for longer, wishes that the stadium was smaller, wishes and hopes that she won’t be too late! She reaches the door, the other side, and sees...

Penny. Ripped apart. And her knees give out. No. this can’t be true. Not Penny. Not sweet, innocent Penny! Penny who doesn’t care that Ruby’s socially awkward, who might be made of metal but that might just be because her heart is of gold, who had once told Ruby that one day she’s supposed to protect the worlds, to fight in a war, and Ruby’s first thought at hearing that had been “does that mean I won’t be alone with my burden?”. Penny who smiled and joked around and didn't really understand how to act **human** , but that's alright because Ruby is of flesh and blood and doesn't quite get it either.

Penny who is lying in pieces in the middle of the Colosseum.

And Ruby’s eyes begin to burn as tears fall

 

~~And deep inside of her something begins to unravel, begins to hack at a still unbroken seal.~~

 

~~And somewhere behind her temples, her head begins to ache just a bit~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Family time and hurt/comfort followed by sweet sweet angst. Oh, how I love it!
> 
> I might be able to post the next chapter by tomorrow, it's already halfway finished (well the ending of the chapter is finished... I wrote that one weeks ago as well as the chapter after that.)  
> Also since tomorrow, I'll spend 6 hours on the train (Spending Easter with my family) I'll have plenty of time to write.
> 
> (Also my chapters keep getting longer...)


	8. Don't try to fly with wings made of stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is this what it means to be a leader? She wonders. Flying off to take on a burden you can’t trust anyone else with? To take action when no one else can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a bit longer to finish this chapter than I thought it would but here it is. Have fun :)
> 
> As always feel free to tell me if you spot any spelling/grammar mistakes.

The ground is hard under her knees. There are screams everywhere, people running past her, fleeing in panik. Ruby only stares at the ground, registering everything but to shell-shocked to do anything. She has failed her! Failed her friends. She should have been faster, should have been more observant maybe then…

Penny…

The woman on the microphone. She has heard her voice before. She knows that voice! But she can’t quite place it. The woman did this! Emerald did this! They somehow managed to manipulate Pyrrha into ripping Penny apart and Mercury stopped her from intervening.

Anger begins to rise next to the sorrow. Hot, boiling. They killed her friend! And Ruby will make sure that they won’t take anyone else! She looks up and sees Pyrrha still standing in the middle of the stadium. Unmoving. Jaune is yelling, pleading for her to move. A gigantic nevermore is trying and succeeding to break in.

One of Penny’s swords is lying nearby. Flung there by some force, probably by Pyrrha.

“Pyrrha! Snap out of it!” Jaune is shouting and now he’s jumping down into the arena in the hopes of saving his friend. And then the Nevermore breaks in, shattering the barrier like glass, his landing blowing Pyrrha and Jaune of their feet and Ruby’s mind becomes crystal clear. Anger fueling her semblance. She turns into petals racing towards her enemy, picking up Penny’s discarded sword in the process. All this happens in a heartbeat and then she’s ramming her dead friends Sword into the belly of the grimm at the full speed of her semblance, nocking it back.

She lands in front of Pyrrha, the need to protect her friend overwhelming.

“Leave her alone!” she screams, voice dripping with anger, sadness and pain.

Her eyes are still burning. There are no tears spilling anymore but her eyes keep burning. Maybe it's the anger, maybe it's something else, she's not sure.

The other students summon their lockers on the nevermore and kill it and Ruby calls Crescentrose to her with Sun’s scroll.

They decide to fly down to Beacon to help fight against the grimm and Ruby’s eyes burn while she watches General Ironwood fly off to his stolen ship. There is a slight pressure behind her eyes. It’s similar to the headaches she get’s after her dreams and Ruby can’t quite place why.  
Is this what it means to be a leader? She wonders. Flying off to take on a burden you can’t trust anyone else with? To take action when no one else can.

They’re already on their way down when Ruby sees Ironwoods ship explode. And the moment she sees it, a decision is made.

No one else can or will take this burden upon themselves, it might as well be her. The General can’t take back his ship, so Ruby will do her best to take it back for him. They'll need it if they want to have any chance against the hordes of grimm. She hears Sun call for her as she jumps out of the ship, but she doesn’t care. She has a mission!

She lands on the terrace of the Colosseum on steady feet and then proceeds to the arena. A locker will be her mode of transportation. It’s insane, delusional and slightly suicidal but still a good plan. And it works.

The moment the grimm dragon breaks free a sudden sharp spike of pain shuts through Ruby’s head and her eyes begin to burn again. It flies past the airship, followed by hundreds of griffins. Too many Griffins.

And deep down in the back of her mind, it dawns on her, that they might not be able to win. She only hopes that her team is safe. The last time she saw Yang, Weiss and Blake had been in their room and that was hours ago. What would she give to have her scroll with her right now, to be able to call her team or even only to check their aura levels and make sure they’re alive. But the way things are right now, she can only hope.

One Griffin tries to attack her, she strikes it down breathing heavily. And then there are Neo and Roman and Ruby has to fight for her life. Her eyes throb the entire time, but she tries to ignore it since she’s kind of occupied with… well… surviving.

She wins. Somehow. And destroys the airship in the process. Though her win might be achieved more through luck and quick thinking than through skill.

By the time she once again has solid ground under her feet, the pressure behind her eyes has subsided slightly, though not completely.

She needs to find her team!

Ruby runs off in search of her friends and family and finally spots Weiss standing at the docks and relive washes over her.

Until she sees…

 

Her sister. Unconscious on the ground, right arm only a stump, haphazardly bandaged. Blood has seeped through the bandages. And Blake is lying next to her, holding onto Yang’s left hand with the desperation of a drowning man, holding her left bandaged site and apologizing over and over again.

It’s like a scene straight out of a nightmare. She was supposed to protect them, to look after them, to **_lead_** them! What kind of leader is she when she can’t even protect her own friends, her own SISTER!

She should have followed her mother's warning and run. She should have taken her sister and run away! And now it’s too late and Ruby wonders if the nightmare she had a few nights ago had been a prophecy after all.

“Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!” says Nora and Ruby knows that she won’t be able to rest until they are back safe and hopefully unharmed. She can't let anyone else get hurt.

“I’ll find them, and I’ll bring them back!” she promises and then Weiss’s hand slips into hers

“we will find them! I won’t let you do this alone Ruby.”

They make Sun promise to look after their injured friends and take off.

 

“we’ll find them, Ruby!” Weiss reassures her as they run over the campus in search for Jaune and Pyrrha.

Ruby’s eyes dart around in search of someone, anyone really “hopefully. How are you holding up Weiss? My scroll got destroyed by Mercury, so I have no clue what everyone’s aura level is”

Weiss stops abruptly, her hand going to Ruby’s arm, stopping her as well “wait, Mercury? As in Mercury from haven? The one that Yang shot in the leg”

Ruby nods “yes, him and Emerald where behind Penny’s…” she swallows hard “he was in the Colosseum, standing on both feet uninjured. They somehow tricked us all. And I think Emeralds semblance has something to do with hallucinations though I’m not completely sure.” She turns to her partner “I tried to stop them! I did! As soon as I saw Emerald I knew something was wrong and I tried to stop her, but Mercury was blocking my path and I wasn’t fast enough!” her Eyes start to burn again but this time it’s from tears that she won’t allow to let fall “and I was too late and now Penny… now Penny is dead!” She knows she’s rambling, but she doesn’t care because the pain is still too fresh.

Weiss takes her hand and squeezes it gently “it’s not your fault Ruby, they fooled everyone.”

“but if I had been faster than…”

“no, I’m not listening to you belittling yourself! It wasn’t your fault. End of discussion! Come on, we have two friends to find and Pyrrha and Jaune where last seen heading to the tower”

They take off again. And then Weiss’s Scroll rings.

And suddenly Ruby realizes where she has heard that woman’s voice before! Suddenly she can place it “it’s Cinder” she breathes.

“who?”

“Emerald and Mercury’s teammate! Cinder Fall! She was the one on the microphone and…” she looks up at the tower. Weiss follows her gaze and realization dawns on her face.

 

They both see the dragon grimm swoops in, spawning dozens of smaller grimm. Ruby unfolds Crescentrose. “I have a plan,” she says.

“You always do!”

They have to get up that tower! And to do that get past the hordes of grimm. And they have to move fast. She trusts Weiss to have her back and by now they’ve fought side by side often enough to know how to stay out of each other’s weapon range.

Ruby spins, whirling her scythe around her small body like it weights nothing. And feels once again the low-key ache forming behind her eyes. By now almost familiar. Dozens of grimm fall to her blade

But they don’t have much time left, they must get to Pyrrha NOW if they want to have any chance at saving her and every second spent down here on the ground is making their friends chances of survival shrink. But then again, they are overrun by grimm to the point where it’s questionable whether they’ll even make it to the base of the building.

They still have to try. She hears the dragon grimm screeching and looks up. It’s flying directly towards the tower. It’s not stopping, it’s gaining momentum and next to her Weiss breathes a shocked “no!” and Ruby realizes what’s about to happen. And then the dragon crashes into the tower, destroying the CCT.

Debris is falling around them, Weiss pulls her close, forming a protective glyph over their heads. “I don’t think we have much time left Weiss, we need to get up there. Fast!” Ruby says slightly out of breath. At least the falling rubble chased away a few grimm so they aren’t quite as overrun anymore

Weiss looks at the tower and Ruby can basically see the idea forming on her face. Her partner closes her eyes for a moment, sighs, grabs her hand to pull her even closer and before Ruby has any chance of reacting, Weiss places a kiss on her mouth. It’s short and chaste, lasting maybe two seconds but it feels like inside of her chest a ball of sunlight as suddenly started to glow, making her feel warm inside. “Be safe and come back to me!” Weiss whispers as they separate.

Ruby can only stare at her partner, feeling slightly dizzy, while Weiss points Myrtenaster at the tower and makes a bunch of glyphs appear on the side of it.

“You can do this!” she says to her and it sounds just a tiny bit like pleading. Ruby looks at the row of glyphs and understands.

“You too,” she says because she needs Weiss to be _there_ and unharmed when she returns. She needs her like air somehow and if the kiss indicates anything, then Weiss might feel the way she does and that would be just… wonderful.

She only hopes that Weiss will be able to handle the remaining grimm on her own. Hopes that she won’t lose her to some monster tonight.

And then she dashes, dissolves into rose petals for a moment, attaches herself to Weiss’s glyphs and runs. Runs as fast as she can. Trying not to use too much of her semblance, she is already running a bit low on aura. Too much fighting, too much running, too much hurt and pain and damage to repair and when she arrives she’ll have to fight some more, get Pyrrha to safety.

Just a little further, just a little faster. The top of the tower is already in sight, it’s coming closer. Please Pyrrha, hold on, I’m coming!

She reaches the top, lands on her knees, looks up only to see…

 

Pyrrha kneeling broken on the ground and Cinder standing just a few feet away, bow drawn, arrow nocked, grin on her face. Pyrrha is staring into Cinders eyes, the expression two parts pain and one part acceptance of the inevitable.

There is not enough time.

The arrow flies into Pyrrha’s chest.

Ruby stares frozen at her friend. The arrowhead protruding from Pyrrha’s back, she is gasping in pain and Ruby realizes that… that…

No! NO! NO no nonono **no**! Not Pyrrha! Please, this can’t be happening!

Ruby’s eyes widen watching Pyrrha light up and then scatter into the air like still glimmering ash.

Her head begins to ache, pressure behind her eyes builds and something inside her that has kept her in control for so long finally snaps. The Seal breaks under the pressure of her emotions. Thousands of voices chant and sing inside of her mind, her skin grows hot and she gets up from where she’s crouching. All of this happens in just a second.

Then the whole world is wrapped in glowing white light and Ruby screams.

~~So maybe this was destiny after all~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry…
> 
> The next chapter might already be half finished, I might have already written it weeks ago… hehe… I’ll post it tomorrow.
> 
> Also, the two idiots finally did something and kissed. So, hurray. 
> 
> Also, I would like to say that to write this I’ve watched the finale of volume 3 like way too many times. Watching Pyrrha die over and over again wasn’t really fun, but I guess in the end it was worth it.


	9. The price of someone else's mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Who are you?” Ruby blurts out impulsively and she can see on the face of the man before her, that this is one question he clearly didn’t expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always if you find spelling/grammar mistakes, feel free to tell me :)

Ruby feels like she’s floating in a sea of white light. Her head is still hurting a bit but it's more like the afterimage of pain. As if the thing that had caused the headache, is now removed and all that’s left is for the damage that was caused by it to be repaired. She opens her eyes and stares into white nothingness. It’s unsettling and weirdly comforting at the same time; she feels vulnerable as if she’s made of paper, brittle, easily hurt and torn apart but strangely invincible and eternal at once.

Eternity passes in the blink of an eye and Ruby is pulled forward only to find herself in that oh so familiar dreamscape. Not standing this time but lying on the ground instead. Ruby sits up, just a few feet in front of her sits the King. He smiles at her gently, like he is proud of her somehow.

“You did it, silver child. You’ve awoken now. I know you must have questions,” he holds up his hand to stop Ruby from interrupting “don’t worry little one, today I will be answering them as well as I am able to. I won’t be able to tell you everything just yet, there are things in your future you will have to find out by yourself.”

“Who are you?” Ruby blurts out impulsively and she can see on the face of the man before her, that this is one question he clearly didn’t expect.

“My name bares no meaning little one for it has been forgotten by now. I lived once long ago, centuries ago when mankind was still unsure of what it wants to be. To them, I was a leader and maybe even a savior”

“You must have a name though, all this time I’ve been calling you the King in my mind, but this is only a title. You are something I might become one day, and I would not want to be forgotten”

The king smiles at that, it’s warm and understanding “my name once was Iolith and you are right because once I was something akin to a King. I was the leader of my tribe through birth and the selected high leader of an alliance of multiple tribes. My story is long forgotten but worry not young one, for my legacy lives on. Through you”

Ruby looks at him with wide eyes “but how can I carry such a legacy when I am not even strong enough to protect my own friends from getting hurt. When I can not even lead my team, when…”

“You will do great silver child” Iolith interrupts her downward spiral of self-doubt “I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you this: the path won’t be easy but one day, you will be a leader like I was. You are still young, barely 16 years old, you have yet so much to learn but your name will not be forgotten! You will surpass me, surpass so many of us. Ruby, you don’t have to worry, for you... you will learn from this, you will overcome it and you will rise to the top. Your stories will be told for centuries”

Ruby looks at him with disbelieve and a little lost for words and then looks down at her hands, fingertips callused from handling weapons and blades at a young age, hands of a warrior at the age of 15, nearly 16. She breathes in deeply because while she doesn’t really know what to believe of what she just heard, there was one important question she needed to ask: “when I die, will I be like you? Like all of you? Will I become just another silver eyed person in another silver eyed child’s dreams? Because I don’t think I want that, but I also don’t think that I have much of a choice in that matter.”

The king – Iolith – looks at her with sadness “that I can not promise you, but let one thing be said to calm your mind in that matter: we are supposed to guide those that come after us, not torment them”

“But that is what you did! You stole my sleep and in doing so you stole my waking hours! I don’t want to hurt whoever is next, I don’t want to make them question their sanity, don’t want to terrify them!” Ruby all but shouts in protest

Iolith looks a bit shocked by her sudden outburst “you are a very special case little one, our guidance is never meant to hurt, only… well to show the best possible path to the novice. And once their awake their full potential, show them how to use it.” He pauses and looks at her with an apologetic smile “you are kind of an outliner, something went wrong with the whole process, something I think someone else will be able to explain better than I, for it is their doing.”

He looks up at the moon and says “I have to go for now child of silver light, but I will be back. For now, rest.”

Ruby's pulled forward again into white nothingness. Left alone with only her thoughts to keep her company, she closes her eyes.

 

It might be an eternity, it might be no time at all that she spends floating, she hears voices coming through the fog though she’s not able to make out what they are saying and who they belong to. And then once again she is pulled… somewhere, and when she opens her eyes it’s to find herself in that oh so familiar dreamscape. She is lying down, staring at the black sky and broken moon, the red grass is cool under her body.

“Hello Ruby,” says a very familiar voice in an unfamiliar tone.

Ruby sits up abruptly. It’s her mother, sitting cross-legged just two feet away from her. She is smiling. She is actually smiling! Ruby stares at her and for the first time in 11 years, the sight of her mother’s face doesn’t fill her heart with pain.

“Mom!” she breathes in disbelieve.

Her mother’s slender fingers grip the edge of her hood and pull it down revealing her entire face “it’s good to finally see you again Ruby and I’m sorry, I put you through hell but that was never my intention.”

“What? Why! What are you talking about?”

“Well,” her mother says “there are many things that are my fault. I tried to protect you but in the end, my actions caused you more harm than good.”

“What do you mean?”

Summer sighs “when you were born, I cried. I cried because I finally had you, my sweet little daughter in my arms. But I also cried because you had silver eyes, just like me and I knew what that would mean for you. A life destined for war and violence. And a power sleeping inside of you that would make you a target. I didn’t want this for you, so I used part of my power to put a seal on yours. Making it undetectable or unnoticeable to others. One would have to look for it to notice it.” she wraps a few grass blades around her fingers and begins to rip then out. “but something went wrong when I died, and my soul was ripped apart. A part of my power was still attached to you and through this a part of myself. All that you could see and hear of me, where my negative emotions, all my hate and fear and anger and sadness. It latched onto you and the rest of me was left only as a spectator, unable to intervene. And the seal I put on you to protect you from detection distorted our interaction with you, my negative feelings amplifying yours and turning something supposed to be only a guiding hand into terrible nightmares.” She looks Ruby in the eye, gaze pleading for forgiveness “I never wanted to hurt you, only wanted to protect you. But in the process, I caused more harm than good and I’m so, so sorry!”

Ruby looks at her mother with wide eyes “so all this, all this would never have happened if you hadn’t died? If you hadn’t tried to protect me?”

“Yes,” her mother says, and it clearly pains her to admit it.

“And what now? You’re _you_ again, right?”

“I am, you broke through the seal and freed me, freed both of us.”

“So basically,” Ruby recounts “you tried to protect me but in doing that cursed both of us, which forced you to watch without the possibility of intervening and turned my life into a part-time living hell. But I broke the seal you put on my ‘power’ and freed the both of us.”

“Yes,” her mother turns to look at the moon “your emotions were so strong that they triggered the power deep inside of you for the first time which broke the seal”

 

Ruby looks at her hands “so all of this was just a terrible accident? But what happened... The last thing I remember was… was my friend Pyrrha being killed and then…”

“Our power is triggered by emotions, at least until we learn to control it, then it can be harnessed at all times. But until you get to this point it’ll be a long time. The most important thing right now is that you be careful and watch your back. Don’t travel alone! For your first outburst will have alerted people that will try to harm you. Without a doubt the same people that… that killed me.” she shuffles closer to Ruby “look, there is not much time left, none of us can stay in your dreams for very long at once, but I will promise that from now on, you can always rely on me! You are my daughter Ruby and though I can not be there for you while you’re awake, I’ll try my best to be there for you from now on while you sleep! Do you have any questions?”

Ruby stares at her mother and just _looks_ at her for a moment “you smile” she murmurs “it’s the first time I see your smile since… forever. I forgot what your smile looked like mom! I forgot how it felt when you _hugged_ me, when you kissed me goodnight! I miss you so much!” tears are streaming down her face, falling unhindered “Yang misses you too and while she spends basically her whole life looking for her mother, you’re still her mom.” She tries to wipe the tears from her face “can you… can I touch you? Will you disappear if I touch you? Because I would really like to remember again how it feels when you hug me.”

Her Mother smiles at that though her smile turns just a tiny bit pained. She reaches out her hands and gently, oh so gently cups Ruby’s face. It feels like solid air and warm sunlight and Ruby’s breath hitches “Mom” she whispers closing her eyes.

“Ruby, I love you and your Sister so very much! The two of you and your father are everything to me!” her hands slip down to Ruby’s shoulders and then she finds herself enveloped in a warm hug “I’ll always love you! You are my daughters, my everything and I will stay and watch over the two of you for as long as I can.”

“I love you mom” Ruby whispers as she clings to her.

“I know Rosebud! But it’s time for you to wake up now, your father is worried about you.”

She places a gentle kiss on Ruby’s forehead, “wake up now my child. I’ll be back we’ll see each other soon Ruby”

The word around her dissolves and Ruby opens her eyes to find herself in her and Yang’s bedroom in Patch.

~~The spot on her brow where her mother had kissed her still tingles~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew... that was... something. Writing Summer was really difficult and really easy at the same time since we have no idea what she was like, only that Ruby takes after her.  
> To be honest, I almost made myself tear up (and by that I mean I definitely had tears in my eyes) while writing that conversation between Ruby and her mother, especially during that last bit. But I guess that was worth it. 
> 
> The name of the king Iolith is the name of a gemstone. It's a really beautiful dark blue and seethrough stone. I highly recommend you to google it!
> 
> Only two more chapters left to wrap up the story. (and then I might possibly have some ideas for a sequel though I'm not really sure about that one yet)
> 
> I'll post the next chapter sometime next week.


	10. Stories told too late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Ruby realizes how this will play out. Her Father will cave in and her uncle will tell her something her father wants to protect her from, but it will be not the entire story because when do adults ever tell her the entire story. To them, she’s just a kid most of the time. And she just can not let this happen. Not after what happened. Not now not ever again. She wants to know the truth, even if it hurts. Because her team, her friends didn’t know the entire truth and look where it got them. Penny and Pyrrha dead because of lies and secrecy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter, have fun :)
> 
> As always if you find spelling/grammar mistakes, just tell me, I won't bite

“Ruby! You’re awake!” says her father the moment Ruby sits up in bed and immediately sprints to her side “don’t worry, you’re safe. Your uncle found you, unconscious but he got you out and brought you home safe!” his hands are petting her hair and gently cupping her shoulders. Fluttering with the need of having to make sure that his youngest daughter is all right, Ruby can clearly see it in his face. “I was so worried about you Ruby! You wouldn’t wake up. The doctors told us that it was just exhaustion and that you would be all right once your aura recovered but…”

“I’m fine dad,” Ruby murmurs, her brain still trying to catch up with everything that has happened, she’s still a bit sleepy and then she remembers “Wait! Yang! Is Yang ok?”

Her father stills at that “er… she’s… she’ll be fine eventually it… it will take some time but she’s alive and as well as she can be right now. I’m just so glad to have my girls back home and safe. When I heard of the attack on Beacon I tried to do my best to get to you as fast as I could but well it was not fast enough” he takes hold of her hands “but you’re both here and you’re alive and that’s all that matters for now”

“were they able to clear out the grim? Is Vale still standing? What about the school!”

Her father’s face turns solemn “things in Vale are under control but… the school is something else entirely. That huge dragon-like grim… don’t take me wrong you did a number on it but it’s not disappearing, it’s… kind of frozen. And it keeps attracting grim. So, for now, we had to give up on the school.”

Ruby closes her eyes for a moment. Had it all been for nothing then? But what her father said was that… “wait. You said I did a number on it, what do you mean by that?” and when she opens her eyes her father won’t look directly at her

“Look, that’s not important right now, things are kind of a mess.”

“Things are always a mess” exclaims the scruffy voice of Ruby’s uncle. She looks over her father’s shoulder just in time to see Qrow drain the last ounces of liquid left in his flask. “mind if we have a minute?”

“what I can’t stay?” her father says slightly unnerved.

“Tai, please!”

And Ruby realizes how this will play out. Her Father will cave in and her uncle will tell her something her father wants to protect her from, but it will be not the entire story because when do adults ever tell her the entire story. To them, she’s just a kid most of the time. And she just can not let this happen. Not after what happened. Not now not ever again. She wants to know the truth, even if it hurts. Because her team, her friends didn’t know the entire truth and look where it got them. Penny and Pyrrha dead because of lies and secrecy.

“No.” she says looking down at her hands, “No, I won’t let either of you leave until you tell me the truth!” she looks up and fixates them both with her eyes and her voice turns hard with the authority she has gained during the past year “the entire truth!”

Her father and uncle look at each other for a second, silently communicating with each other in a way only people who know each other’s every secret can.

“What do you mean by that,” her father says, voice careful.

“I’m young, I know. But I’m not stupid. I just woke up from a battle I lost, I just lost two of my best _friends_! The least you two can do Is tell me what happened! Especially if it has something to do with my silver eyes because I really need some answers right now.” she knows it’s not completely fair to lash out at Tai and Qrow right now but she can’t bring herself to care. The hurt of just having lost two friends is too fresh, as well as the anger. And the picture of Pyrrha turning to glimmering ash is still burned into her mind.

“Your eyes? How…?” says Qrow taken aback slightly. Again, her father and uncle exchange look “Summer began dreaming when she was 15, it is possible she knew something…” her father says sounding almost absent.

Qrow sighs softly, walks over and sits down in the chair her father had abandoned a few minutes ago “you froze a dragon grimm, the biggest grimm I have ever seen in my life. And yes, it has something to do with your silver eyes!” he leans forward slightly “for how long have you had strange dreams?”

“how did I do that?”

“we don’t really know,” says her father and then asks softly “Ruby, since when have you been dreaming?”

Ruby closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to steady herself, then she looks her father directly in the eyes and says “since the night mom died”

 

The science in the room is almost tangible. Her father’s eyes widen, first in shock then in realization and then Ruby finds herself engulfed in a warm embrace “gods! All this time? Why didn’t you… you should have! Ruby! You could have told me! Anytime!”

“Why didn’t you say something to me, dad? Why did none of you ever tell me that I have this ‘special’ ability?” Ruby murmurs into her father’s chest. She feels empty, defeated.

“To be honest? Because we had no idea how to do that.” Qrow says and he sounds as tired as Ruby feels

Ruby looks up and untangles herself out of her father’s arms.

At her questioning look, her father continues “we only know so much about your silver eyes and the power that comes with it. Only what your mother told us. But Summer tended to keep some things close to the chest, never wanted to unnecessarily worry us, as she put it. She planned to be the one to tell you once she thought you were old enough, but well… that never happened.”

“so, what do you know?”

Again, her father and Qrow exchange looks

“we know about dreams that are a bit prophecy like but are also some kind of training ground for your power, how we have no idea. We know that having silver eyes also puts you in danger, and we know a few things you can do with the power you have and how it looked like when Summer used hers.” Qrow finally says after a few moments of silent communication.

“and there is one legend Ozpin told us back then,” her father says and her uncle nods.

“yes. You know there are many legends and stories in Remnant, but a very long time ago before Huntsman, before kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. It was said that grimm the enemy of humankind where afraid of these warriors, that even a single look from them could strike a grimm down. We thought at first that this was a ridiculous story. But… well time proved us wrong”, says Qrow as he runs a hand through his hair

“So, this means I am one of these warriors? Then… what can I do to help?”

“Pettal, the most important thing you can do right now is to rest and get your strength back, the trail of our enemies leads all the way back to Haven, that's a trip slightly too big for you” he gets up and gently ruffles Ruby's hair, “I’ll go check up on Yang, catch you later kiddo”

He turns to leave the room but is stopped by her father “you gonna stay for dinner?”

Qrow halts “you’re cooking?”

“Yes, Beef stew”

“Well I guess then I’ll stay a bit longer,” he says shrugging and then leaves the room

Ruby stares at the empty doorway a for a second and then turns to her father “what did it look like when mom used her power?”

Her father’s eyes turn distant in remembrance “pure silver light bursting from her eyes. Blinding and frightening and yet so beautiful. Sometimes it burst out in a bream or wing-like shape. She didn’t use it often, said that even after a couple of years of training she still didn’t have complete control over it. But she was able to use it in a pinch, especially when emotions were running high. Saved our life a few times.”

“she told me that... that I have to be careful, that now the same people that killed her would be after me. You see, I dream of her and the other silver eyed people that came before me. They are supposed to teach me how to use my power, but well… something went wrong when mom died.”

The expression that steals itself onto her fathers face at that, is almost unreadable “I feared you would be in danger once you activated you power for the first time but… Ruby, you are still so young, I had hoped that you would have a few more years to grow before having to shoulder such a burden!”

“Mom tried to protect me. She told me that she put a seal over my power, but that turned into a curse when she died. It tor her apart and left me with her negative emotions attached to me and triggered the dreams. But it’s all back to normal now. She said that with me awakening my power, I removed the curse. She’s herself again and said that the dreams will actually help me now instead of terrifying me and giving me nightmares”

Her father sighs “I’m sorry that I made you feel like you couldn’t tell me. I’m sorry for not being completely honest with you. All I wanted was to protect you but in the end, I guess I was too preoccupied with my own grief to notice how much you and Yang were struggling”

“I could handle it”

“I know, I still wish it would have been different” he rubs Ruby’s shoulder and looks at the doorway “I’ll go make us some tea, do you want me to bring you something?”

Ruby shakes her head, “no I’ll join you”

“Ok” he kisses her forehead on the same spot her mother had kissed her in her dream, the spot start tingling again

“I’m glad you’re all right,” he says and leaves the room

Ruby stays in bed for a moment. There is a mirror on the wall and she can see herself in it. From the outside, no one could even imagine the events of the past few days… how long was she asleep anyway? She forgot to ask.

Her hair is still the same, the pajama she’s wearing is a spare one she had left here when packing for Beacon, and her eyes don’t look so different right now. A normal girl as it seems. No one who doesn’t know any different would suspect that she had frozen a giant grim with only one look. And maybe it’s better that way. To be just normal-knees Ruby on the outside. To leave everyone else oblivious to the power that’s apparently resting just behind her eyes.

 

Ruby sighs and gets up. She needs to see her sister, needs to see her with her own eyes to make sure she’s alive.

It doesn’t go in any way how she thought it would. Yang is hurting, and Ruby understands that but being shut out, send away and dismissed like that, just hurts. Almost as much as Weiss and Blake leaving does. And Ruby wonders if she’s somehow the last one of team RWBY who’s still standing. A leader without anyone to follow.

Somewhere behind her breastbone, there’s now a hole that wasn’t there before.

Ruby goes down into the kitchen where she finds her father and uncle talking quietly over a cup of tea. The conversation stops as soon as she enters the room. She sits down at the table, feeling bone tired and hollow

“you ok their rosebud?” her uncle asks, and Ruby shakes her head

“it’s all gone, everyone is gone. What am I supposed to do now? Blake left, and Weiss was taken away, what am I supposed to do without my partner, without my team?” she buries her face in her arms in an attempt to hide from the word and tries not to cry.

Her father pushes a cup of honey sweet apple tea in her direction “first you drink that, and then you eat and sleep and recover a bit. Then you can worry about everything else.” He says with the wisdom of someone who’s already been through the exact same thing.

Ruby obeys and sips her tea. It’s sweet and hot and Ruby only now realizes how thirsty she is. She drains the whole cup in one go. “I just want Weiss back” she murmurs.

“Oh!” Qrow suddenly exclaims “I almost forgot!” he reaches into his pocket and pulls up a carefully folded up letter, “she asked me to give you this before her father could pull her on his ship. A really unfriendly guy that one!” he hands it to her.

Ruby stares at the paper in her hands.

“I… I’ll be in my room,” she says before taking off

Ruby runs up the stairs and once in her room, sits down on her bed and opens the letter with shaking hands

 

_Dear Ruby,_

_I hope you wake up, right now you’re still unconscious and no one knows exactly why and if they do they’re not telling. I think it has something to do with the silver light that I saw after you reached the top of the tower and I guess that has something to do with your dreams and silver eyes._

_I don’t have much time. My father came for me and plans to take me back to Atlas, and I’m not allowed to refuse him. But you have to believe me that I don’t want to leave! I want to stay at your side and figure out a way to retake Beacon, to avenge Penny and Pyrrha! But right now, that is not a possibility._

_My father allowed me to write a letter to you for when you wake up. I told him that it wouldn’t be proper behavior to leave without notifying my team leader. He’s standing outside the door right now…_

_You’re breathing, so that’s good! But I just wish you would open your eyes and give me the courage to defy my father._

_I hope that one day I’ll find the courage to do that and return to you, but until then there are a few things I would like you to know._

_~~I think~~ _ _I’ve come to like you. And by that, I mean that I think I’ve fallen in love with you. If you don’t feel the same way I do, then I apologize, and we won’t ever have to talk about it again, but if you feel the same that would be beautiful. You are special to me Ruby, you showed me that there is no shame in showing and admitting what you feel, you showed me that just because you have your faults doesn’t make you weak or any less worthy. I’ve changed because of you and because of Blake and Yang. And I think I became a better person through the three of you._

_I’ll make sure to give you my address in Atlas, so we can at least try to stay in contact through letters._

_Please give Yang my regards_

_Be careful and look after yourself, after all that’s not something I can do for you anymore, you’ll have to do that yourself now._

_Love_

_Weiss Schnee_

 

Ruby presses the letter against her chest. Tears are streaming down her face. What would she give right now to have Weiss here at this very moment? To hug her, to kiss her and to tell her that, yes, she feels the same way. To tell her to come home to her, to hold her and figure out a way to defy expectations together.

Hugging the letter is a weak substitute. But it’s better than nothing.

She reads it a second time, and then a third. Tries to commit every word to memory.

 

Hours later when her father comes up to check on her, he finds her asleep on top of the sheets curled around this precious piece of paper. He carefully folds it back up and places it on her nightstand before tucking his daughter in.

 

Ruby turns 16 one week later, her father gives her a new scroll to replace the one that got destroyed during the fall of Beacon as her birthday present. The day after, Ruby contacts Jaune. The two of them throw together a rough plan and he promises to stay in contact.

The pull to get back out there is growing steadily as she gets her strength back. She thinks her father knows that but tries to ignore it. He just wants to keep his children close right now, to paranoid about keeping them safe. But then again, it’s not really paranoia if the fear is justified.

“Destined to lead the life of a warrior” her uncle had told her. It’s true, Ruby thinks, staying still isn’t something she’s good at.

Staying still only leads to memories of friends being ripped apart and turned to dust. And that’s something she really doesn’t want to think about.

 

Two weeks after the fall of Beacon and her and Yang are still not talking, well not talking much.

Ruby still tries to. But their conversations are mostly one-sided. She knows Yang is still hurting, still too raw with loss and pain and sorrow. But she feels as if she’s losing her sister and that’s slowly tearing her apart. Yang had always been her cornerstone, a source of unconditional love and warmth.

Now Ruby tries to be exactly that for her sister, tries to reverse their roles but nothing seems to work. Yang keeps pushing her away and Ruby feels as if she can do nothing right.

And every evening Yang’s empty bed in their shared room is a stark reminder of this new distance between the two of them.

If Ruby stays here, it will break her. But she’s not sure if she can do this without her team.

 

And then 16 days after the fall, a Huntsman comes to the door of their house with a letter he promised a “young huntress with black hair” to deliver to Taiyang Xiao Long’s house.

It’s a sign of life. From Blake.

And for the first time in what feels forever but is actually more like 2 and a half weeks, Ruby feels alive.

Her hands shake a bit as she unfolds the piece of paper.

 

_Dear Yang, dear Ruby_

_I hope this letter reaches the two of you. I hope you are as well as you can be right now and I hope you’re safe._

_I’m sorry for leaving but I have no other choice. Adam promised that he would destroy everything I love and hunt me, so right now the safest place for you is far away from me._

_I need to keep you safe, I need it more than everything else!_

_I’m sorry Yang, I’m so, so sorry for leaving you like I did, for getting you hurt! I never wanted any of that! And I hope that one day I will see you again, but before that can happen, I have to do two things. First, I have to return to menagerie, to see my parents and then I have to somehow get rid of Adam. And when all of this is done I will try to return to you, try to find you._

_I can only hope that maybe one day you will forgive me._

_I love you, Yang. I’m sorry for everything I said and did after your fight with Mercury. You were right all along! And I didn’t listen. You must hate me for what I did, and I think I deserve it._

_I’m entrusting this letter to a local huntsman in Vale. He said that he knows your father and will make sure to get the letter to Patch. By the time you get it, I’ll already be on my way to Menagerie._

_Love_

_Blake_

_P.S. I give you the address of my parent’s house in Menagerie. It might take months before I get there but in case you need to reach me then… well, you know._

 

Ruby rubs the tears from her face and takes a deep breath. She knew it wasn’t without reason. Yes, Blake tended to run away but she never did without good reason, or at least not without what she thought was a good reason. She folds the letter back up and then goes to make some tea.

Tea, letter and a sandwich are then put onto a tray which Ruby places onto her sisters Nightstand with an “I don’t care when you to it, but you will lead this letter!”

Then she goes into her room to call Jaune.

 

“Ruby, this is madness,” her sister murmurs after Ruby tells her of her plan to go to haven with what’s left of team JNPR.

“I know,” Ruby says, “but I’ll do it anyway.”

 

Three weeks after the fall of Beacon Ruby starts to dream of red grass and white trees again. The dreams are different, reassuring almost.

“Hello child,” an old woman with bunny-ears tells her “come sit with me, I’ll try to teach you how to concentrate on your inner self”

Ruby sits down, facing her and listens as the Faunus tries to teach her how to feel for the power that’s sleeping deep inside of her.

It’s a welcome change to the nightmares she has almost every night of Pyrrha dying while Cinder laughs.

 

Four weeks after Beacon, it starts to Snow. Ruby notices it as she looks out of the window while packing her bag.

Crescentrose is lying on her bed, disassembled. She’s in the progress of cleaning it and making sure it’s in good condition before she leaves in the morning. Jaune, Nora, and Ren will pick her up and then together they’ll head to Haven in search for answers.

The moment she notices the snow falling outside her window, the rag which she had used to clean of old oil and dirt falls out of her hand.

The hole inside of her makes itself known once again. There is a longing, a longing to see Weiss, to hear her voice, to hold her hand. But it’s not possible. Weiss can’t leave Atlas right now and Ruby has a different destination.

There is one more thing she needs to do before she leaves. She needs to write a letter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew... that chapter was the longest so far! But it needed to be. So many important things to write about! And I don't think you mind the longer chapter :D
> 
> Next chapter will be the epilogue, then I'll take a short break of 1-2 weeks and start with the sequel.


	11. You're in my heart and in my bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're still here, thank you for sticking around :)  
> As always in case you find spelling/grammar mistakes, feel free to tell me.

_My dear Weiss,_

_Since I cannot be sure if this letter will be read by you alone, I won’t be able to tell you everything that I want to tell you. There is so much I want to say but can’t._

_But above all, I need you to know that what you told me in your letter, and what you did back then at the foot of the tower, fills my heart with joy._

_I want to see you again! I need to see you again! You are my partner and we keep each other safe and sane. We have each other’s backs and keep each other’s secrets. Before Beacon I never knew what having teammates, having a partner meant, I thought I could do all of it on my own. but now I don’t want to anymore._

_I hope that one day you will be able to fulfill your wish, I hope that one day we will meet again. And I will wait for as long as I’m able to for this day._

_There is so much to say. And not enough paper to say it with._

_Just know that you are the best teammate anyone could ever have._

_I finally got answers regarding my dreams. The light on top of the tower? That was me. I kind of somehow froze that giant grimm dragon. My father and Qrow told me everything they know about the whole ordeal (remember they both were on the same team as my mom)._

_The dreams themselves are better too. I still have them but they’re not as terrifying anymore, they’re more like normal dreams. I still wake up though but that’s ok because they aren’t as frequent anymore._

_I’m heading to Mistral, to Haven tomorrow. Jaune, Nora, and Ren will come with me. It’s where Cinders path leads back to and we hope that we’ll find answerers there._

_It’s been hard. Yang is hurting, and Blake is… not there. She wrote us a letter though! She said that she’s on the run from Adam Taurus, that he wants to destroy everything she loves and that he wants to kill her. She thinks that the safest place for us right now is far away from her._

_She told us that she would go to Menagerie to see her parents._

_I don’t know if Yang has read the letter though. I hope she does, but I cannot force her to do so._

_But I can’t stay here in Patch either. Staying still just hurts too much._

_My uncle told me that there are legends about people like me, that I am destined to lead the life of a warrior, and the King (I told you about him back at Beacon, turns out his name is Iolith) told me that I’m “destined for greatness” or something like that. And I think they might be right. There is something pulling me back out there._

_But don’t worry, I won’t be alone. I’m sure the remainder of team JNPR will watch my back. I’m just not sure about how to tell them about the whole strange-dreams issue. But I’m sure I’ll figure something out._

_They’ll never replace team RWBY though. They’re not YOU._

_Anyway, I’ll try to write you while on the road, keep you updated._

_With love your partner_

_Ruby Rose_

 

Weiss presses the letter against her chest. It is slightly crumbled from being read so many times. By now she knows every word, letter, and punctuation by heart.

There are 5 more letters just like this one but it’s still her favorite.

She gently folds it up and puts it back into her suitcase.

Outside the windows of the cargo ship, the sea is glistering in the low light of the evening sun.

“I’m coming Ruby” Weiss whispers “I’m coming home to you”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that's it I guess. At least for now. I hope you had fun reading my little writing project that somehow got 10 000 words longer than originally intended... 
> 
> As I said before I plan on writing a sequel (very) loosely based on the events of volume 4 and 5. Put posting that might take 1-2 weeks from now so please be patient with me. This is, after all, something I write between classes, studying in the library and essays so please don't expect too much from it.  
> But I had fun writing it, and fun with challenging myself with writing in English, so I definitely plan on continuing this story!


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